Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to electronic devices and, more specifically, to techniques for preventing water damage in portable devices.
Description of the Related Art
A typical circuit is configured to control the flow of power through components, such as resistors, transistors, and capacitors. Connectors, such as conductive wires or traces, connect the components to one another, and power flows through the connectors. The components and connectors are typically arranged within a substrate of high resistance. Power flows through the material with the least resistance, so the power flows through the connectors instead of the substrate. The placement of components and connectors within the substrate determines the desired path for the power to follow.
Components and connectors are configured to operate with certain amounts of power. Under normal operation, the circuit is designed to only expose a component or a connector to the amount of power that the component or connector can handle. If the component or connector were exposed to too much power, then the circuit could be damaged. For instance, if a resistor were exposed to more power than the resistor can handle, then the resistor could overheat and the resistor as well as surrounding portions of the circuit could melt and become non-operational.
Typically, liquids, such as water, have less resistance than the desired path for the power through the circuit. Liquids on the surface of the circuit can create unintended paths across the circuit with little resistance. The liquids thereby form what is known as a short-circuit and the power may follow the short-circuit. The short-circuit may expose components of the circuit to more power than those components can handle, thereby damaging the components and making the circuit non-operational.
The proliferation of portable devices that operate from battery power, such as cellular telephones, has made damage to circuits from exposure to liquids more common. For instance, a user oftentimes carries a cellular telephone into environments with water. If the user accidentally drops the cellular telephone into the water, then the water could form a short-circuit within the cellular telephone. The flow of power through the short-circuit could damage components and circuits within the cellular telephone. This damage could make the cellular telephone non-operational. The user would then have to replace the cellular telephone. The user could also lose valuable data, such as contacts, settings, and messages stored within the damaged cellular telephone.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a technique for preventing damage to portable devices that are exposed to liquids.